I Miss You
by KNDfreak
Summary: AU College/Military fic. Oneshot. Humanized. Just a sweet, MarshallxChase fanfic born out of this dry writer's block I have. Sorry it's terrible, writer's block is a curse that should just die, honestly. Erm, enjoy?


Marshall sighed, hand trending through his hair as he looked down at the algebra problem in his book. Though focus, the teen wasn't really paying attention to the problem - or the book, for that matter.

Instead, his mind wonder over to his best friend whom he hasn't seen in over a year - Chase.

The other teen had decided to go into the army, and the last he heard, he had been stationed to Afghanistan. The fact that Chase had even wanted to join the military left a bitter taste in Marshall's mouth, and most of their friend's mouths too, but regardless, they had supported the teen and went to see him off when he was recruited. Skye had cried, lending into Rubble's shoulder, while Ryder and the rest of them just gave Chase a sad smile, a hug, and to warn him to be careful. Looking back at it now, there was a deep sense of regret coming from the white-skin college student.

He had always admired Chase growing up. He had been everything Marshall wasn't, and when they became friends, whatever self-esteem issues Marshall had had quickly disappeared whenever Chase was around. Chase had given him the courage he needed to stand up for himself, gave him the confidence he needed when it came to his looks, and most of all, had shown him what it was like to be cared for when nearly everyone else had abandon him in some way. It nearly took a year for Marshall to realize he had fallen in love with Chase, and when he first found out about it, he had freaked, thinking Chase would hate him for feeling the way that he did.

An incident at the movie theater had told him otherwise, as Chase really didn't have any opinion on same-sex couples other than 'love who you love'.

Marshall sighed.

After that discovery, Marshall had wanted to be open to him about - wanted to express his feelings for him, but he never did. Now, with Chase so far away from him, he wasn't sure if seeing him off was going to be the last time or not, and when he thought about it, his gut started to squirm uncomfortably.

Placing his pen down, Marshall decided it was best to take a break. It was obvious he wasn't going to get any work done, and with him worrying about Chase, he doubted he will be at peace until he, at least, get something hot to drink. Getting up, he went to get his jacket and then headed towards the door, just missing an unknown skype call going through his still open laptop.

It wasn't long before he hit the streets and shivered as a chilly wind blew passed him. It was late in October, and the weather seemed colder than normal, and Marshall was almost certain that he heard that it was going to snow one day this week.

"Hopefully, it won't blizzard like the last time." He muttered, smiling at the thought. The last time it had snowed in Adventure Bay, the snow was at least 20 inches from the ground, and no one could go anywhere or anything. He and Chase had been stuck in his house, his parents had been out of town so they were left all alone, with the lights off for a couple of weeks - and what a couple of weeks it was. The two had pretty much destroyed the house about time Chase's parents came back, and his older sibling, Chaz, had taken a picture of the two cuddle up together near the fireplace, Chase having his arms and legs wrapped around Marshall, who had snuggled against the boy's body, head buried on his chest. Needless to say, Chase had been ready to kill Chaz while Chase's parents had been ready to kill Chase and Marshall.

Marshall laughed lightly at the memory, entering a shop on campus. Almost immediately, the smell of cinnamon, coffee beans, and dough hit his nose, and Marshall could feel his body relax almost instantly at the smell.

Although Marshall personally did not like coffee, he did have a sweet tooth, and this shop had been his go-to spot ever since he realized he could buy whatever sweets he wants, so long as they have it. And what Marshall wanted, right now, was a delicious cinnamon roll with a delicious hot chocolate on the side. If Chase were here, he would probably tease Marshall endlessly about eating nothing, but junk food.

 _Chase..._ He thought as he moved towards the counter, and the worker there smiled.

"Hi Marshall. I see you made time to come and visit." She said, and Marshall couldn't help but smile back. He had been one of their regulars for a good month or so, and, at this point, Marshall was pretty much their number one loyal customer.

"Hi Crystal. Yeah, just trying to study for these exams that are coming up." He said. Crystal nodded.

"I see. Must be a killer, huh?" Then she raised an eyebrow. "Or is it about this Chase guy again?" Marshall blushed.

Being a regular, Marshall had had the time to get closer to the people working in the shop, and Crystal is one of them. Since most of his friends went to different colleges, Marshall had been alone and it bothered the white-skin male, who had always been around a group of people since childhood. When Marshall first stepped into this shop after going around campus to get to know it a little better, on her first day, Crystal had approached him and had said, with these direct words: "I love your skin tone. I wish I was as unique as you."

The compliment had lead to a blushing Marshall, and Crystal had just laugh and apologize if she was being rude. Her boss had asked him if Crystal was giving him so problems once he realized that Crystal was - in a way - provoking the customer, and he had said no. Since then, the two got closer, to the point of being really close friends, and of course, Marshall had told Crystal about Chase and his crush on him.

"Both, I guess," Marshall sighed. "Just get me a cinnamon roll and a hot chocolate. Extra whip cream."

"Coming right up. When I get my break, don't move from your table, we'll talk about this." Crystal said. Marshall nodded and paid for his order, going to sit down next to the table in the back, near the window of the shop. Just as he was about to, a buzz came from his pocket, and when Marshall revealed the text, he couldn't help but smile. _  
_

It was a picture of Chase and his buddies in the army, smiling at the camera. At part of him wondered just how the military was able to get away with that, when he read the captions under the picture.

 _Missing you like crazy  
C_

The grin on Marshall's face soften.

"Aww, that's really adorable." A voice said, causing Marshall to jump and turned to see Crystal standing behind him, his cinnamon roll and hot chocolate in hand. Setting the two down, she sat across from him and smiled. "So. It's about Chase."

"Yes..." Marshall muttered, blushing as he sank into his seat.

"And you miss him."

"Yes..."

"Don't you have skype?"

"Yes, but, he's not always on it all the time, you know. War stuff and all." Marshall said. Crystal hummed, cocking her head to the side.

"Ever thought about telling him?"

"Yea-no. I'm...I'm not going to tell him while he's fighting for our country," Marshall shook his head at the idea. "Besides, I'll probably skype him later. We're both busy people, you know."

"Just a quick 'I love you' would suffice," Crystal said, frowning. "I'm not asking you to go all out, but...you should really tell him. Before, you know, it's too late."

Marshall didn't say anything, taking a bite out of his cinnamon roll. Later, when Marshall returned to his dorm, he'd noted that he had missed three calls on skype on his laptop, and all three of them were Chase.

"Huh. Wonder what was so important to tell me..." He whispered, before clicking on the miss message button and then blinked. Then he blinked again. Next, his jaw dropped as he stared at the screen, unable to believe what was written in front of him.

 _I love you.  
Chase_

Three words. Three words Marshall has been trying to say for the last year or so, only to fail because of his own fears; yet, Chase was able to say it via through text clearly. _This is why I love you, Chase. You're always so brave when I'm not._ Marshall smiled, tears overflowing in his blue eyes.

 _I love you too, Chase  
Marshall_


End file.
